Innocence
by MomoMouat97
Summary: A set of oneshots detailing Kuvira's life.
1. The Journey to Zaofu

**1\. When Kuvira's family found out she was a bender, they grew to hate her.**

* * *

"You disgust me, you freak!" Kuvira pressed her hands against her ears as she screwed her eyes up tight, trying to block out her father's harsh words that echoed throughout the room. As usual, her mother did not defend her, simply nodding along with the poison her husband was spewing from his mouth. On the ground between the two adults was the rock that Kuvira had been practicing her earthbending on, still frozen in the shape of a sad little star.

As she watched, her father followed her gaze, and in an instant the star was crushed underfoot, leaving only a pile of dust. Her heart ached at the sight of one of her creations being dismissed so easily.

"Daddy, I'm sorry, but I can't help it!" the instant the words are out of her mouth, she regrets them. Kuvira cowers against the wall as her parents loom over her threateningly.

"What did I tell you about excuses?" A vein is popping in his forehead, and his arm darts out quickly to grab her arm, painfully tight. Her cries of pain are drowned out by his furious voice. "_What did I tell you?"_

"Daddy, please-" With a roar of fury, he pulls her off of the ground and throws her away from him. Kuvira smacks into the front door, her scream of terror dying in her throat. Sitting there stunned, she barely registers her mother's hands on her, bruising her further, pushing her violently out the front door.

"You aren't welcome here anymore, bending freak." She spits on her only child's prone body, crumpled in a growing puddle beside the front door, unaffected by Kuvira's wails and pleads for her to come back. She manages to pull herself to her feet, stumbling wildly as she tries to regain her balance. Head reeling from the events that just transpired, she pads away from her home as fast as her eight-year-old feet will take her.

It's some time before she collapses under an overpass, shivering violently and drenched to the bone in tears and rain from the vicious storm outside. Kuvira curls into a trembling, sobbing ball, her bruised ribs protesting violently. Ever since her parents had discovered last year that their daughter was an earthbender, tensions had arisen. Being non-benders themselves, they were disgusted with the idea that a child of theirs would be so abnormal. Family trees were scoured for hints of where her ability came from, but when none was found it was decided she was simply a freak, and undesirable freak.

That was the first night that her daddy had hit her, and it certainly wasn't the last. Kuvira gave a little cry of pain when she curled in too much, causing her homemade stitches from last week's horrid beating to start tearing.

"I can't stay out here all alone," she whimpered, slowly dragging her aching and abused body to her feet. "I don't want to die!"

And so with that thought burning through her head, she set off, gritting her teeth against the howling wind and biting rain and it beat against her tiny body. It was all she could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other, stumbling blindly away from her small, non-bending town. She did not look back, her mind solely focused on getting as far away from her parents as possible, crying all the way for the loving versions of them she had lost months ago.

By the time she finds herself at another city, she is too exhausted to move, and collapses on the first doorstep she finds. Unconsciousness follows swiftly, and she finds herself in a dreamless sleep for the first time in ages. She is briefly roused by a soft scream from above her, eyes flashing open to focus on a horrified woman with a tiara-like headband nestled in her short brown hair. Kuvira manages to choke out a feeble plea for help before the darkness takes her once more, and she does not wake up until she feels a soft hand caressing her bruised cheek.

Kuvira opens her eyes, recoiling slightly in fear. Startled, the woman from before withdraws her hand, peering down, not unkindly, at the whimpering girl.

"Where am I?" her eyes dart around her, taking in the unfamiliar bedroom and the soft down sheets below her cheek before flashing back up to look at the kindly woman. "Why am I here?"

"Sweetie, I don't know how much you remember, but I found you outside last night and brought you inside. You were pretty hurt, but I had my healer come and fix you up as best as they could." Kuvira's hands flash to her sides, where only a faint ache can be detected. Curious, she pulls her shirt away from her body and peers down at a thin scar, void of stitches. The change is fascinating to her.

"Oh." Is all she says, her face crumpling up in emotion. This is the kindest thing anybody has done for her since her parents turned against her. Tears well up in Kuvira's eyes, and to her shock, the woman carefully reaches out and wipes them away. "Thank you for your kindness."

The woman smiles at her, dimples dotting her face. "No need. But where are your parents, little one? I'd think they'd be worried by now…" She trails off when Kuvira starts to cry in earnest, her shoulders shaking with sobs. "Sweetie?"

"They-They don't want me, miss," she whispers, looking down in shame.

The woman is completely appalled at the child's words. "No, no, you're completely welcome to stay here, honey. We can get this all sorted out, and then you can go home, okay?"

"I can't," Kuvira repeated, blinking up at her with an innocence that only a small child could possess. "They'll just hurt me again."

Her words cause the older woman to flinch, feeling nothing but sympathy for this poor child, who she now realizes is an abuse victim. Determination fills her as she remembers the state of the poor girl when she had found her on her doorstep. A few more minutes, and the child might not have made it until morning. She is speaking before she even makes the decision to.

"You're more than welcome to stay with us, as long as you'd like." The little girl is hugging her tightly in an instant, pleasing her. She feels the wetness of tears on her stomach, and she carefully hugs the child back, only releasing her when she starts to pull away.

"Oh, thank you so much, miss-" Realizing she never asked for the woman's name, she leaves the sentence hanging over them, peering up at the beautiful woman she already adored.

"You can call me Suyin, honey. And what can I call you?"

"You can call me…Kuvira."


	2. The First Night

**2\. Kuvira's first night in Zaofu, told from the POV of Suyin Beifong.**

* * *

Suyin sighed wearily, everything but collapsing next to her already snoring husband in their bed. Today had been a bittersweet and insane experience, one she certainly hadn't expected when waking up this morning. She gave a little groan of exhaustion, throwing her arm over her tired eyes.

"_Oh my goodness! Baatar- fetch a healer!" she all but screamed, dropping to her knees beside the battered and feebly stirring child lying in a crumpled heap on her front porch. Her breath caught when the girl's broken green eyes met her own, managing to choke out a tiny cry for help before her head lolled back to lie motionless on the doormat._

_Su bit her lip, unsure whether or not she should move the injured girl from where she had obviously collapsed. The deciding factor turned out to be a gust of biting air, still heavy with the rainstorm that had blown through just hours prior. She carefully scooped the girl up under her neck and knees, propping her against her chest snugly before shutting the front door with her elbow._

"_What's going on, Mommy?" Little Baatar, curious as to what was going on, had appeared in the hall doorway, eyes wide and confused. His little hand clutched his old teddy bear, and it was obvious his mother's shrieks had roused him from peaceful slumber. "Who's that?"_

"_I don't know, baby, but she's hurt and I'm gonna help her," she stopped briefly when she passed him, kneeling down slowly as to not jostle the unconscious girl. Baatar Jr. grimaced when she gave him a kiss on his forehead, wiping it off when he thought she wasn't looking as little boys often did. Yawning, he turned around and headed in the opposite direction from where she was headed, to his bedroom, his curiosity sated with his mother's words._

_Suyin carefully placed the sleeping girl on the bed in one of her many guest rooms, staring intrigued at her bruised face. Obviously, something horrendous had happened to the poor child, and she needed medical help immediately. At that moment, the family healer walked into the room, and Su took her leave, giving her privacy to heal the girl's wounds._

Suyin shook her head, remembering Kuvira's tearful confession that all but screamed of abuse. How somebody could have hurt that innocent little face, she didn't know. But it sure did sicken her. The signs were all over her body language and words, a screaming beacon for help.

"_Everybody, I want you in the family room, please," Su called out, just loud enough for everybody in the house to head easily, yet not quite loud enough to be yelling violently. Sitting down on one of her plush sofas, she made a patting gesture next to her, raising an eyebrow to little Kuvira. She bit her lip in hesitation before carefully climbing up to sit next to Su, with a good foot and a half of space in between them._

_Kuvira flinched when the door slammed open, and the four boys filed in noisily. As usual, Wing and We were arguing over something inconsequential, and Baatar was trying to be the mediator of the trial. Unsurprisingly, Huan was indifferent, watching his siblings with a look of mild interest._

_A stern look from Su was all it took to calm them down, and get them to take their seats quietly, just in time for Baatar Sr. to walk in, carrying four-year-old Opal in his arms. Once they all were seated, Suyin wasted no time in introducing the now trembling little girl sitting next to her. "This is Kuvira. She's going to be staying here until further notice, and I expect you all to treat her as you would any other guest." Her words were directed towards her four boys, mostly, as baby Opal was sweet to everybody she met._

"_Am I clear?"_

"_Yes mother," the boys chimed in unison, with Opal piping up a few seconds too late, "Yes Mama!"_

_But Su didn't miss the antagonistic look the twins shot at Kuvira, who recoiled closer to the protection of her, much larger, body. She just knew that those two boys were going to do something to cause trouble, and they probably would manage to drag her good little boy Baatar into all of it as well. She sighed, watching as Kuvira slowly slipped off of the couch, padding over to where Opal was sitting on her father's lap. Smiling, Opal gave her a big, warm hug, something that warmed Suyin's heart. Her little girl was sweeter than most grown-ups, at only age four._

A piercing scream startled Su out of her thoughts, and she sat bolt upright in bed at the same time Baatar jolted awake. They shared an uneasy look, jumping to their feet when the same cry of terror echoed through the Beifong estate. Su lead the way, darting down the hall with her cable ready in her hand, prepared for a fight to break out at any moment.

But the screams were coming not from the main rooms of the house as she'd thought, but from their now occupied guest room.

She and Baatar shared a look before opening the door to Kuvira's bedroom, he flicking on the lights while she hurried to the screaming girl's bedside. The girl was obviously having a horrible nightmare, her whole face screwed up in pain and fear while she continued to scream like a madwoman. Little hands tearing and grasping at the sheets, tears poured down her face, a sight that made Su's heart splinter.

Suyin gently placed her arms on Kuvira's shoulders, so as not to scare her witless. "Kuvira….Kuvira, sweetie it's okay, you need to wake up, honey!"

It took a little persuading, but eventually her tear filled eyes snapped open, startlingly emerald in the pitch blackness. The scream working its way out of her tortured throat cut off abruptly as she sucked in a sharp breath, which was quickly followed by another. It quickly turned into hyperventilating, and Su fell to her knees beside her heaving little body, placing her hands on either side of her hot and sticky face. Kuvira's eyes were wide and unfocused, locked on something Suyin and Baatar couldn't see nor hear.

"Baby, you need to calm down for me, okay?" She worked hard to keep her voice level and soothing, shushing Kuvira gently every time she made a painful, keening noise. Slowly but surely, her breaths started to even out, her shoulders shaking with occasional but controllable sobs. When she finally looked up at Su, her face was absolutely heartbreaking, and Suyin pulled her in for a tight hug, feeling her tiny arms wrapping around her neck and her feet tightening around her waist.

She just knew that the poor girl wouldn't be able to sleep alone the rest of the night, and so she started out of the door, halting when she came face to face with her four boys, expressions ranging from curious, to annoyed, and to fearful. Su sighed, knowing that they would never forgive them if she didn't tell them at least something.

"It's okay, boys. Kuvira just had a little nightmare. You can go back to bed now, okay?"

Something in her face must have told them that now was not the time to cross them, because not a single one protested before walking away. The only one that hesitated was Baatar Jr., who threw a fleeting look of concern at the trembling girl in Su's arms before his father took his hand to take him back to his room.

Suyin sighed, holding Kuvira snugly in her arms as she headed towards the living room. Once inside, she sat down on the couch, not releasing the slowly relaxing girl from her grip, instead opting to cover the two of them with a soft, fluffy blanket. It wasn't long before the girl in her arms fell asleep, her head falling forward to rest on her own chest with a soft noise, her breath tickling the nape of her neck. Su kept rubbing comforting circles on her back, humming quietly to herself absentmindedly.

It was in that moment that she decided Kuvira was going to stay here. Permanently. She would do everything in her power to give her the childhood she deserved. And as she dozed off, still clutching the sleeping child to her chest, she saw her husband come in and press his own gentle kiss to the top of Kuvira's head, and knew that her decision was the right one.


	3. Friends?

**3\. The other Beifong siblings are jealous of the attention Kuvira recieves from Suyin.**

* * *

Kuvira sighed, resting her chin on her folded elbows as she watched Suyin bustle around the kitchen, preparing breakfast for the household. Her eyes never left the woman, one of her only anchors in her rocky world.

It had been four days since her arrival on the Beifong doorstep, four stressful days. After the first night had brought her nothing but tears and nightmares, Kuvira had refused to leave Suyin's side for more than a few fearful moments. Coping with the realization that she had lost her parents forever was almost too much for the young girl to handle, and the less-than warm welcomes of the other children in the Beifong Estate were almost too much for her to swallow.

She quickly decided that her three favorite people here were Miss Su and Mister Baatar, as well as their youngest child, Opal. The four-year-old girl was the only one that seemed to like her, and had followed her around everywhere she wandered off to. Kuvira found it endearing.

Sighing, Kuvira stretched in the stool she was seated in, her feet dangling from her position at the breakfast bar. Suyin glanced at her, giving her a warm smile that warmed her from the tips of her toes, clad in brand new slippers from the matriarch, to the top of her head, mussed up from last night's sleep. Kuvira remembered to give her a sweet thank you when she placed a plate of food in front of her, carefully digging in.

She nearly dropped her fork when the twins came barging into the kitchen, shying away from their loud footsteps and whining voices, always arguing with one another. Su seemed to notice this, because she instantly became stern.

"Boys, settle down already! It's too early to deal with this sort of nonsense." Chagrined and muttering to themselves about how unfair it was, they hopped onto stools across from Kuvira, who slowly scooted her chair a bits away from them and their obnoxiousness. Because she was the closest to them, she was the only one to catch snippets of their conversation.

_"..never told us to be quiet that much until _she _got here!"_

_ "She's ruining everything!"_

Her ears started to burn with mortification, catching on that they were, indeed, talking about her. Kuvira's mouth became dry, and she knocked over her stool with a loud crash in her haste to get out of the warm room. Whipping around the corner, she heard Suyin's confused voice asking her sons what happened, but she didn't stick around to find out what their answers were. She was so focused to getting as far away from the kitchen as possible that she didn't see Huan and Baatar Jr. until she was crashing into them.

Kuvira's slippers didn't give her enough traction to keep her from toppling over, and with a noise of discomfort she found herself flat on her back with the two older boys looking down on her. They had not been as mean to her as the younger ones had, but they still were not welcoming her into their household like Su had asked them to.

"God, look where you're going, that's so uncool," Huan rolled his eyes at her, calmly stepping over her without offering her a hand or anything. Kuvira felt her chest and throat get tight with tears, and she hurriedly blinked them away as she scurried back to her feet. She started to brush past Baatar Jr., not wanting to give him a chance to make fun of her as well.

"Hey, wait!" He grabbed her arm, a totally harmless move to him. But to Kuvira, it was much more than that. Visions of her parents started to flash in her mind, and she crumpled to the floor with her hands over her ears. Dimly, she could hear somebody keening softly, but it didn't quite register in her mind that it was her making those noises.

Su, having heard the commotion, hurried into the hallway, appalled at the scene that greeted her. She turned furiously to Baatar and Huan, who had stopped halfway down the hallway, his face frozen in surprise. "What did you do?"

"I-I didn't mean to!" Baatar stammered, realizing he was still grasping onto the shaking girl's arm. "I just wanted to ask her if she was okay, and then she started yelling." He looked up at his mom with big eyes, magnified by his too-large glasses. Suyin could instantly tell that he was telling the truth, and turned her glare on Huan and the twins, who had come up behind him.

Huan paled visibly, and Su narrowed her eyes at him. "I wasn't trying to be a jerk, Ma, honest! She was already upset when she ran into me." The twins fidgeted nervously, trying to hide behind their older brother, and Suyin turned angrily from her boys.

"Get out of here. I will deal with you and your ridiculous games later." They scampered away, leaving only Su and Baatar Jr. in the room with the trembling Kuvira, who had curled herself into a tiny ball at their feet. She knelt next to the girl, hearing her voice whispering and breaking on unspeakable things.

"Please don't hurt me…I'll be good, I promise! Mommy, please, making him stop!"

Suyin gathered the hysterical girl in her arms, rocking her back and forth. "It's not real, Kuvira, come back to us, honey." It took some persuading, but Kuvira eventually came back to her senses enough to realize where she was. Her gaze flittered around the room, widening when she took in Baatar Jr., kneeling next to his mother and looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, suddenly bashful. "I didn't mean to scare you….I just wanted to make sure you weren't hurt." Kuvira stared at him, confused for a moment before her face softened.

"I'm okay, and I-I'm sorry too, for reacting like that." She shivered a little bit, scooting herself closer to Su's warm arms, wrapped protectively around her middle. Baatar Jr.'s face lit up, and he thrust out his hand to her, causing her to jump a little bit.

"Friends?" he asked her shyly, his eyes wide and hopeful. Kuvira looked up at Su's face, and then reached forward to take her son's hand in her own.

"Friends." She told him, her face breaking into her first real smile since she got here, wide and with missing teeth. Breathing out a sigh of relief over at least something going right today, Su released her newest child, beaming at Baatar Jr. before turning to the doorway.

"Boys," she called out, knowing that they were probably eavesdropping around the corner. "Come in here, now." And sure enough, in they came, heads down, the very picture of remorse. Whether it was fake or real, Su didn't know quite yet, but at least it was a start.

"Isn't there something you want to say to Kuvira?"

"Yeah, um, I'm sorry for, y'know, knocking you down and all," Huan said first, hands in his pockets while he scuffed the carpet by his feet. He slowly turned his gaze to look at Kuvira's, looking relieved when she gave him a tentative smile. The twins followed suit, with some persuasion for Suyin, and to her pleasure Kuvira was forgiving to them as well.

"Now, enough of this nonsense," Su told them all, hands on her hips, a stern expression on her face. "Kuvira is here to stay, and will be treated as a member of this family. Deal?"

Heads were nodded all throughout the room, and to her surprise, a blur of green and silver pajamas came running at her, almost knocking her over with the force of their hug. Looking down, Su saw Kuvira with her little hands wrapped around her waist, face buried in her stomach.

"Oh, thank you so much, Miss Su!"

Kuvira's piping voice was music to Suyin's ears. She may not be her own biological child, but Su was going to make sure she was treated as such. A happy little girl was much more relaxing than a crying, traumatized one, but Su knew that they still had to work on that. And, while she couldn't erase all of the horrors her parents had inflicted on her, she would do her dandiest to try.

"Kuvira, come play hide-and-seek with us!" Baatar Jr. darted forward, snatching up Kuvira's hand in his own. Thankfully, Kuvira did not have another panic attack, and instead beamed at him, planting a kiss onto his cheek. Su had to cover her smile when her son turned beet red, grinning shyly at her. It would appear that somebody had a crush on the newcomer already.

Suyin watched as her children tore off to play their silly little games together, throwing herself down onto the first chair she could reach. Children were _exhausting_, but the rewards of being a parent far outweighed the drawbacks, that was for sure.


	4. The Bending Incident

**4\. While watching Suyin and the twins practice their bending, Kuvira is put into a situation that forces her to do something she never wanted to again.**

* * *

The mighty city of Zaofu was bathed in sunlight, hundreds of thousands of people bustling to and fro and going about their daily duties and routines. It's the first truly sunny day in over a week, as a long line of vicious storms had battered the city for days on end. The Beifong family, in particular, was taking advantage of the change in disposition of the weather, everybody gathered outside to watch or participate in bending lessons, curtesy of Suyin.

Kuvira sat, nestled in between Baatar and Baatar Sr., her arms wrapped around Opal's squirming body while she watched the impressive display of bending in front of her. She hadn't had the heart to say no when the four-year-old tugged on her arm, asking her if she could sit on her lap, and so she had agreed after promising Baatar Sr. that she would be careful not to drop her.

Right now, Suyin was engaged in a mock-earthbending duel with the twins Wing and Wei, their figures almost a blur as they darted to and fro, searching for openings. It was the two of them against her, yet she was holding her own as well as taking the lead multiple times. Kuvira found herself mesmerized by the show, slightly envious and apprehensive about bending. She shuddered, fighting back a panic attack when memories of her parents' hatred of her bending ran across her mind.

On the other side of the yard, Huan was working on his metalbending skills, struggling to make little sculptures in various shapes and sizes. Most of the time, they were not up to his standards, and he simply demolished them to start again. Kuvira had never seen somebody metalbend before, and found it almost as fascinating as earthbending.

She wondered if she could metalbend, as well, but was too scared to ask Su of Huan if she could practice with either of them. It was a deeply rooted fear, bending, one that she wasn't sure she would ever have the courage to try again. At least, not for a good long while.

"Oh man, this is so cool!" Baatar whined, turning to Kuvira. "I sure wish I could do that." He was a nonbender, as was his father and baby sister Opal. "Don't you?"

She swallowed back a pang of guilt. "Definitely." Worried he would see the lie she was sure was etched across her face, she turned back to the earthbending duel. It was good fortune that she did, because she was the only one that saw a huge chunk of broken rock flying at them. Suyin was turning, her mouth open in alarm while her eyes widened, but by the time she yelled it would be too late. The rock was getting closer and closer to them, and, specifically, Baatar, and her and the baby.

"Baatar, move!" in an instant, she shoved Opal into his arms, hearing her startled cry at being jostled so hard. She pushed them off to the side, barely registering him turning in midair so as to not crush his sister when they fell. Her screams were the only thing she could hear over the sudden roar of blood in her ears.

Kuvira dove in front of Baatar Sr., thrusting her hands out in front of her while her face screwed up in concentration. In the background, she faintly heard Suyin scream at her to move, but it was too late. She waited for the pain of an impact, but when it never came she tentatively opened one eye.

The huge piece of rock was floating calmly in midair, inches from her outstretched hands. Behind her, Kuvira heard Baatar Sr. suck in a startled breath, but she focused all of her concentration on launching the rock, which was over half her size, across the yard and far away from anybody else. Sweat poured down her face from the sheer effort of it, but with a yell she managed the feat, falling down to one knee in exhaustion.

Kuvira looked up once she had caught her breath, catching the shell-shocked faces of Suyin and the twins. Wei was totally pale and devoid of any facial color, and she knew that he was probably the one to overshoot the rock that almost crushed them.

Suyin's mouth was still open as if she was about to speak, but before she could she heard Opal whimper next to her. The little girl had her attention in a heartbeat.

"Sorry, honey," Kuvira reached out a hand to pull Opal carefully off of Baatar, avoiding his startled eyes. "I didn't mean to scare you." The younger girl clung to her pants leg, her face buried in the fabric. She awkwardly patted her on the back, unused to such affection from somebody. Eyes turning back to where Baatar still laid spread-eagled on the ground, she raised an eyebrow, offering her hand to him as well. He took it without hesitation, and Kuvira helped yank him off of the ground.

"You saved my life," he mumbled, eyes still locked on her face. Kuvira felt her cheeks tinge pink, and she looked down, running a finger through her hair bashfully. "Thank you."

"It's no problem," she muttered, grinning toothily at him. It was then at that moment that Suyin arrived on the scene.

"Oh, my babies!" She grabbed all three of them, eyes running over their bodies in search of any injuries. Baatar, in particular, looked disgusted with this overly affectionate version of his mother. Not seeing anything obvious, she did the same thing to her husband, Baatar Sr. "Is anybody hurt?"

"No, thanks to Kuvira," he said, kneeling down to where his wife had thrown herself at them. Kuvira looked down in embarrassment when he looked at her, and felt his fingers gently tug her chin back up to look at them. Confusion was all over his expression, as well as Suyin's. "Why didn't you tell us you could do that?"

Kuvira bit her lip painfully, shuffling her feet. "I don't want to bend. It's bad." She hoped that they would leave it at that, but, of course, Suyin wasn't the kind of mother to just let a comment like that slip by.

"Honey-"

"Please?" Kuvira turned her face towards Miss Su, begging her not to ask her about it. Not now, not here. She looked like she was about to protest, but a look from her husband changed her mind. Nodding, she climbed back to her feet, taking Kuvira's hand for the first time. Warmth flowed up her arm from where their skin was touching, filling her with a pleasant feeling.

"I'm so sorry!" Wei blurted out, darting forward to stand in front of Kuvira. "I put way too much power into that stupid move. I could've killed you!"

"It's okay, it was an accident," Kuvira told him, giving him a tiny smile. "No harm, no foul, right?"

Su looked at her son, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Just try not to do it again. It was extremely dangerous, and I don't think hurting one of your siblings is what you want."

Wei shook his head violently, paling further, if it was possible. "No, Mama. Never!"

"Alright. Go clean up with your brother, okay?" Su looked over at Huan, who had come over curiously from his side of the yard to see what was going on. "Huan, you can continue to practice if you'd like."

He shrugged, turning and going back to what he was doing in that passive way of his, going back to manipulating a sheet of metal to form some sort of figurine. Honestly, Kuvira couldn't even begin to figure out what it was, but of course she would never tell him that. She wasn't nearly that mean.

The rest of them went inside, and went their separate ways. When Kuvira started to follow Baatar Jr. down the hallway to the living room, Suyin called her back. "Kuvira, why don't you come sit with Baatar and I?"

Kuvira stifled a sigh. She knew where this was coming from, but it would be rude to deny an open invitation like that from the woman who had been nothing but kind to her since she had gotten here. Wearily following them, she prepared herself for the emotionally draining conversation that was sure to follow.


	5. Meeting a Legend

**5\. Meeting Toph by mistake**

Kuvira sighed quietly, watching morosely as her newly adopted family filed out of the front door. Today was a big day- Suyin's mother, the famous Toph Beifong, was in town to see her family for the first time since Baatar Jr. had been born. She'd never even gotten a chance to meet her other grandkids before now, and the entire family was buzzing with excitement. At least, everybody but Kuvira.

Last night Suyin and Baatar had reminded their children of their grandmother's visit, instantly perking their ears up. Kuvira had watched in confusion, not sure who Toph was at first. Her parents hate hated anything and everything to do with bending, and her knowledge of any people with her gift was limited to none.

She had tried to catch Su's attention over the excited chatter of the other kids. "Miss Su, who's Toph?"

Blinking down at her, her face registered nothing but confusion, before she realized that the girl had no idea who her mother was. Quickly, she launched into a conversation with Kuvira.

Suyin had explained that Toph Beifong was her mother, as well as a famous Earth Rumble champion and close companion to thee previous avatar. Kuvira felt her eyes open wider and wider as Su's words painted a colorful picture in her mind, and was suddenly eager to see her as well. It was almost impossible for her to imagine that a single girl of twelve- and a blind one at that!- could have accomplished all of those heroic things. Kuvira had found her new hero.

She couldn't wait until tomorrow morning so she could meet this legendary woman.

Perhaps sensing this, Su bit her lip, looking suddenly guilty. Kuvira knew that face well, it was what happened before somebody told you no. Her heart sank in her chest. "Honey, my mother doesn't really like….people, in general, actually. It was hard enough convincing her to come and see us, and I don't know how well she would react to meeting you."

Her face fell, and a surge of disappointment rushed through her veins. Kuvira understood that this was Miss Su's way of explaining to her that this was a _strictly family gathering_, and outsiders like her were not welcome. She was no stranger to this, her parents had always excluded her from anything exciting once her bending abilities had been unveiled. It would do no good to argue now, and Kuvira didn't want to push her luck with her new family at all. Nodding her understanding, she quickly excused herself to bed, feeling alone once more for the first time since those first few days here.

Tears burned in the corners of her eyes. It seemed, no matter how hard she looked for love, somebody always didn't want her around. Kuvira shut her eyes, telling herself to get over it. It was no use crying over information that she'd already known. After all, who would want a freak like her around by choice, anyway?

Drawing circles on the wood swirls in the design of the kitchen table, Kuvira pouted, feeling extremely left out. Master Toph had sounded amazing! She would have given anything at this point to have a chance to just meet her, and to hear her voice.

She is so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't even hear the sound of another person approaching behind her until they finally spoke. "Well, who do we have here?"

Kuvira gave a little shriek of shock, spinning around in her seat so hard that it pitched her over onto the floor. The air in her lungs rushed out in a sharp noise, and she found herself facedown on the floor by somebody's bare feet.

She slowly looked up, taking in the elegant green fabric on this person's clothes. As they hit the person's face, she froze, seeing the pale blue eyes gazing blankly ahead into nothing. Strands of silvery white hair, escaping from a far bun behind her head, hung in her eyes, and yet she did not push them away. This woman was blind, and that meant…

"Master Toph!" Kuvira scrambled to her feet, hastening to bow respectfully, before realizing that she couldn't see her anyway. Oh well. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were in here." She hated the way her voice stammered in nervousness, wanting to impress the powerful earthbender and probably failing. Anxiously, she shifted on the spot, trying not to stare at those blind eyes.

"Quit your moving around, girl! I can't see anything with you doing that!" Kuvira froze on the spot, slowly putting her raised foot back down. Utterly confused, she stood motionless, not wanting to offend Suyin's mother.

"See? But you're-"

"Yes, I'm well aware of the fact that I'm blind," Toph told her, crossing her arms across her chest and smirking in her general direction. She raised a greying eyebrow. "At least, in the normal sense. I see using my earthbending."

"Whoa, really? That's so cool!" she gushed. Suyin had obviously left a lot of the details out when explaining who her mother was to Kuvira last night. Her thirst for knowledge only grew. "Who taught you to do that?"

Toph barked out a laugh, but it was surprisingly gentle, not condescending like Su had implied. "I learned it myself, kid. Now answer my question, why don't you?"

Kuvira paused, about to launch into a stream of questions. There was so much she wanted to ask Toph, but she didn't want to be disrespectful. "What?"

"I said, what's your name, girl?" While talking, Toph had absentmindedly begun to bend one of her armbands into different shapes. Kuvira watched in amazement as the metal bent fluidly to whatever she wanted it to be. She wondered if Huan would ever be able to do something like that.

"I'm…Kuvira." She hesitated slightly, not knowing if Suyin wanted her to tell Toph that or not. Since her mother had asked, she didn't think that Su would get too mad at her.

"And why exactly are you here?"

Her voice grew shaky. "Miss Su took me in when my parents didn't want me no more." Unconsciously, she started to shuffle her feet again, looking down at the ground. "And I'm real happy she did."

Toph opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Suyin opening the front door. Kuvira felt her heart skip a beat, and the color drained out of her face. She had really messed up now- disobeying her request to stay out of the way blatantly. Waiting for the blow to fall, she held her breath, heart racing now. As if she could sense this, Toph looked uneasily at her.

"Mom, what's taking you so long?" Her eyes searched the room, and they landed on Kuvira, who looked away guiltily, eyes shutting. All she could think about was what a horrible person she was, and how angry Su was going to be with her.

"Oh, nothing, I was just talking to this charming young lady here." Toph responded, her words causing Kuvira's eyes to flash open and her face to flush with delight. Despite the situation, being complimented by the most powerful earthbender in the world was not something you heard every day.

Suyin looked startled for a moment, as if she couldn't believe her mother's reaction. She came closer until she was standing between the two. Kuvira took this as a good sign, and relaxed slightly with Toph's next words. "I was about to ask her to join us outside, if you don't mind?"

Su shook her head quickly, giving Kuvira a small smile. Kuvira instantly returned it, relieved that she wasn't in any obvious trouble. "Of course not, that would be lovely." Taking Kuvira's hand gently, she began to walk back towards the door, holding it open for her mother. Together, the three women joined the rest of the family where they were huddled together on a blanket in the grass.

Baatar Jr. perked up immediately when he saw Kuvira, scooting over and patting the spot next to him, and she eagerly plopped down next to him. The rest of the afternoon was spent talking and laughing and bending, and just altogether having a good time. It was late that night when Toph was about to make her leave that something happened to make it the best day ever for Kuvira.

Releasing Suyin from a tight hug, Toph turned towards Kuvira speculatively. "I like her," she decided, slapping the stunned girl on the back roughly. Kuvira winced slightly, but the joy on her face vastly outweighed the discomfort of Toph's strength. Beside her, Suyin snickered into her hand, rolling her eyes.

"Alright, mom, don't kill the poor girl." She joked, ruffling Kuvira's hair playfully, making the young girl grin happily.

It was with a lighter than air heart that Kuvira turned to the twins Wing and Wei, standing nearby. "Did you hear that? She likes me!" Their only responses were to stick their tongues out jokingly at her, which she returned gleefully. She was on top of the world, and went to bed with a happy expression on her face, a complete opposite from the crushed one of the night before.


End file.
